Miraziz Bazarov

Affiliated media: Blogger

Incident date: May 19, 2023

Attack type:

• Abduction, taking captive / hostage, illegal deprivation of liberty

Who attacked: Authorities

Source: Mediazona. Central Asia

Location: Uzbekistan, Tashkent

Additional information:

On the evening of May 19, blogger Miraziz Bazarov was detained in Tashkent: he was handcuffed outside his home and taken to the Tashkent Police Department. The reason for the detention of the blogger is still unknown. According to Bazarov’s mother and eyewitnesses, it looked like a kidnapping — men in civilian clothes «put Bazarov by force» into a grey Matiz car without number plates. «He jumped out of the car and started running away shouting ’help’, but several men from the car caught up with him and took him back by force», — Sarpa quoted a witness to the detention as saying. Miraziz Bazarov’s lawyer has filed a complaint against law enforcement officers for unlawful detention of his client by force. The complaint states that on May 19, 2023, law enforcement officers illegally detained Miraziz Bazarov by force and kept him in custody for more than eight hours in the building of the main police department.